Outboard motors are commonly used for powering small to medium size boats. Often, during servicing or storage of such boats and/or their motors, it becomes necessary to remove the outboard motor from the boat and to move the outboard motor to a convenient storage location. At such times, it also is necessary to handle, transport, and store related equipment, such as a gasoline tank and fishing gear.
Since outboard motors are heavy to lift and awkward to carry, a variety of devices have heretofore been proposed to assist in their carriage. One development which upon first impression superficially resembles the instant invention is U.S. Pat. No. 2,380,017 issued Jul. 10, 1945 to Blicker for PORTABLE OUTBOARD MOTOR STAND, which discloses a truck type frame with an upstanding frame attached to the truck body. However, that patent discloses and claims a stand in which a frame is substantially directly over one of the pairs of truck wheels. Although the frame is inclined toward the center of gravity of the truck, the stand does not provide the degree of stability which I consider desirable in view of the rather substantial weight of most outboard motors. Other patents in the area include the following: U.S. Pat. No. 2,515,428 issued Jul. 18, 1950 to Scott for OUTBOARD MOTOR SUPPORT AND PACKAGE which provides a stationary stand for holding an outboard motor in either an upright vertical or in an inverted position; U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,812 issued Dec. 9, 1952 to Kiefer for BOAT MOTOR FLUSHING TANK AND HANGER which provides a tank on wheels and a frame for supporting an outboard motor in a position to operatively extend down into the tank; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,916,292 issued Dec. 8, 1959 to Olson for OUTBOARD MOTOR STAND AND DOLLY which discloses a simple transportable dolly type frame or stand which is configured to allow pivotal movement of a motor clamp while the motor is held by the dolly.
In conclusion, while there are a wide variety of carriers for outboard motors, in so far as I am aware, most of the available devices to some greater or lesser degree have inherent stability problems. Also, the previous outboard motor stands were not engineered with storage availability for related equipment, such as fishing rods and tackle boxes. The problems and disadvantages just described are virtually eliminated by the present invention.